China: Back to the future

In a dinner we had with Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun a couple of months ago at his residence, he correctly pointed out that the Philippines has had a longer relationship with China, even much longer than with the United States and Spain. Chinese traders were already coming to the Philippines as far back as the 10th century. As a matter of fact, when the Spaniards arrived in Manila in 1571, it was said that there were already Chinese merchant ships coming into Philippine ports. There was also a fairly large Chinese population then.

I remember the first time I stepped into China in 1974 as a Channel 9 news reporter when we went there on what was described as our own "basketball diplomacy." An uncle, Ambassador Eduardo "Danding" Romualdez was the head of our mission, with Lito Puyat, then Basketball Association of the Philippines president, as his deputy. Joe Almonte, at that time a colonel assigned at the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) was also with us, along with our friend Noble Soriano and 15 of the country’s top basketball players like Mon Fernandez, Sonny Jaworski, Jimmy Mariano and Francis Arnaiz. The visit was also my first assignment as a "diplomatic analyst," having been briefed by then Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor Jr. to observe those we were expected to meet like Deng Xiao Ping and Chou En Lai, who had just suffered a stroke at that time.

We arrived in Beijing in the winter of 1974, just before the Philippines opened diplomatic relations with China in June 1975. We stayed at the Friendship Hotel, a large complex built by the Russians during the ’50s which was reportedly full of ghosts because a lot of people died there during the Cultural Revolution. China at the time was as backward as you can get. As Air Force One was about to land in Beijing during that historic trip to China, Richard Nixon saw all these old structures, prompting him to describe the country as stuck in the Middle Ages. In fact, the only hotel existing then was the Friendship, which was really more like a guesthouse where official visitors were billeted. I visited China again in 1983, and things were just beginning to change. When I went back late last year, I could see the fantastic changes. It’s like they went from slow motion to fast forward. Skyscrapers dotted the skyline, the city of Shanghai was bustling with tourists in five star hotels, and shopping malls were doing brisk business with Chinese consumers eager to spend their newfound wealth.

Today, everyone knows that China is an emerging market with an economy that is growing by leaps and bounds. Since 1978 when the Chinese government decided to open up and embarked on a major economic reform program, it has registered phenomenal growth. It is expected to have a growth rate of 10.2 percent this year, increasing its GDP from $215 billion to $2.23 trillion in 2005 alone. China has contributed an average of 13 percent to the world economy, accounting for $500 billion worth of commodities from the time it became a WTO member in 2001. No wonder China is acknowledged as the world’s hottest economy. Even the United States has recognized China’s rising influence with the over $200 billion trade deficit, with the Chinese signing a token $15 billion for Boeing 737 aircraft and other American goods. Last week, Chinese leader Hu Jintao arrived in Washington for a summit with US President George Bush. While the US may continue to be piqued with China’s refusal to devalue its currency and take a tougher stance on intellectual piracy, it knows that the sleeping giant has reawakened. I always tell my friends about the joke that China is now so prominent that Chinese leader Hu Jintao is now a "Who’s Hu" instead of a "Hu’s He."

In Asia, China has become the largest import market, accounting for $440 billion of imports from Asian countries in 2005. Clearly, the future of this country is tied in with China because of our two countries’ close proximity and a relationship that spans several centuries. Most Filipinos acknowledge having Chinese blood running through their veins, like the Tuasons (Sontua in Chinese), the Cojuangcos, the Tambuntings and many others. Even my paternal grandmother had direct Chinese lineage. In fact, our National Hero Jose Rizal had a Chinese ancestor, Domingo Lamco whose Chinese name is Cua Yi Lam from Jinjiang in Fujian province.

The Chinese clearly want a strong presence in the Philippines, promising to help not only by increasing bilateral trade relations but also to support infrastructure constructions and even with military assistance. I am told that they are even proposing to have their own version of the Visiting Forces Agreement. As a matter of fact, there is already a Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation signed by the two countries last year. According to Ambassador Li Jinjun, the Philippines enjoys the fastest growing bilateral trade with China, with the trade volume increasing from $3.14 billion in 2000 to $17.6 billion in 2005, and it’s expected to exceed $20 billion this year. China has also promised to help the Philippines create millions of new jobs in the rural areas to increase the income of farmers. We can continue to keep that "special relations" with the United States, but practicality dictates that we need to fend for ourselves especially in the area of trade. China is expected to be the biggest economy in the world by 2040, even much bigger then the US. Just like in the 10th century when we first traded with China, it’s now time for us to look back to the East for our future, and begin to look at the West as part of our history.

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While China continues to show phenomenal progress and is on a fast-forward mode, the Philippines hasn’t moved fast enough to cope with the population growth in the last 20 years. While EDSA I changed our system of government, nothing significant has happened since then. The problem with many of our politicians and the so-called civil-society leaders in this country is that they seem to be just pushing their own agenda without offering an alternative to what would be good for this country. Instead of "STOP CHA-CHA," why not stop the music altogether and stop playing musical chairs! People are tired of this silly game. Why not offer something that would help them have a better life?

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